University College London is being urged to investigate an ‘‘appalling torrent of anti-Semitism’’ that former students claim has swept the institution, which was the first to accept Jewish students when it was established in 1826.
More than 500 alumni including Nadhim Zahawi, the former education secretary, have written to Dr Michael Spence, the provost, demanding action after material was posted on social media appearing to glorify the Oct 7 attacks.
The strongly worded letter, suggesting that “morally repugnant” behaviour had “brought the university into serious disrepute”, comes after the UCL branch of the University and College Union (UCU) passed a motion calling for “intifada until victory” and a “mass uprising”.
Signed by senior judges, MPs, academics, lawyers, doctors and ambassadors, the letter claims that ‘‘the repeated calls” for ‘‘intifada’’ and ‘‘resistance’’ can “only be interpreted as glorifying the murder of Jews at the hands of Hamas’’ – and warns that ‘‘such language and behaviour has no place in any modern institution of higher education…and puts the lives and security of Jewish students and staff at risk’’.
The letter reads: “On Oct 7, Hamas terrorists violently murdered 1,400 civilians in Israel. Entire families were brutally killed and tortured. Children were burned alive and beheaded.
“Holocaust survivors and the elderly were kidnapped from their homes. More Jews were killed during that terrible onslaught than in any single day since the end of the Holocaust.
“Since that day, the UCL community has been set ablaze with constant anti-Semitism and bigotry of the most vile kind.”
Accusing UCL student societies of continuing to “brazenly harass Jewish students”, despite repeated complaints, it adds: “It is incomprehensible that academics and students at one of the world’s leading universities could join in the global calls to incite violence.
‘Mobs hunted down Jews’“The horrific scenes last week in Dagestan, where mobs hunted down Jewish passengers at an airport, show how words can quickly turn into dangerous actions.”
The letter cites at least half a dozen graphics posted on social media by the UCL Marxist Society calling for ‘‘Intifada until victory’’.
The chant is repeated by a member at a recent student rally in a video seen by the Telegraph.
On Oct 9, UCL Students for Justice in Palestine shared a graphic with a quote from Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of Hamas, describing the attacks on civilians as ‘‘a heroic fight for Al-Aqsa Mosque’’.
The group also appeared to glorify Hamas terrorists by captioning a picture of terrorists who were involved in the Oct 7 massacre with the words: “Palestinian resistance fighters take over Israeli military vehicles and return them to Gaza”.
In another message, seen by the Telegraph, Yoav Gollant, the Israeli defence minister, is described as “genocidal” and accuses Israel of “extermination”.
‘Resistance is an honour’On Oct 10, the UCL Arab and North African Society shared a graphic on Instagram asserting that ‘‘resistance is an honour’’ and ‘‘there is no state called Israel’’ while also describing the Al-Aqsa Mosque as held ‘‘captive’’ by the ‘‘Zionist entity’’ .
On Oct 27, the UCL branch of UCU passed a motion calling for ‘‘Intifada until victory’’ and a ‘‘mass uprising’’.
The Twitter account of UCL branch of UCU has repeatedly posted articles from the ‘Quds News Network’, a mouthpiece of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The letter calls for “swift and decisive action”, including treating complaints from students, staff and third parties seriously and launching an independent investigation into the student committees responsible for these activities.
Eight leading rabbis from the UK and around the world – all alumni of UCL – have also endorsed the letter, organised by The Pinsker Centre, a think tank which campaigns against anti-Semitism on British campuses.
They include Dayan Ivan Binstock, a senior Rabbinical judge of the London Beth Din and Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum, the dean of the London School of Jewish Studies, formerly Jews’ College.
‘Raw, undisguised anti-Semitism’Rabbi Pini Dunner, the Senior Rabbi of Beverly Hills Synagogue, said: ‘‘The obsessive focus on Israel, and knee-jerk defence of Hamas terrorism, can only be explained as raw, undisguised anti-Semitism masquerading as political activism.
“UCL must take a clear and unequivocal stand against this.’’
UCL has been approached for comment.
